The next time I find myself in a US airport, with a typical spare three hours before my flight, I’m going to make a beeline to the nearest Butter London boutique. This nail company has rolled out a series of nail salons in Seattle and Sacramento airports, and will soon have another location in Dulles.  The company specialises in rapid but luxurious treatments in a funky setting, but even better, the nail polishes don’t have the nasty chemicals found in most brands. A manicure is just $20 while a pedicure is $40. And if you can’t make it to one of those airports, customers in the US, UK and Canada can buy the non-toxic polishes on line.

Seattle's foodies are all abuzz over Marazul, a new Asian-Cuban-Caribbean inspired restaurant which is just next to the Pan Pacific Hotel. Chef Bruce Dillon has aimed to create island luxury- and living- at a reasonable price. Well, one thing for sure that will get diners in the island mood will be the in-house rhum bar, which stocks over 40 varieties. The menu takes inspiration from around the world. There's fusion tapas on the menu like jerk pork potstickers with guava plum dipping sauce and pad thai with prawns, scallops, clams, Chinese sausage and coconut curry sauce. In the tatami room try the watermelon, ahi tuna, and miso ceviche or shrimp adobado sate.  During the summer, Marazul will also be serving sugarcane snow cones laced with rum on the outdoor deck. Now that's almost as good as a real Caribbean getaway. Marazul, 2200 Westlake Avenue, Seattle (206)-654-8170.

It's rare that a big city business hotel inspires nest-envy. They are, after all, designed for guests who value a fax machine over Frette. But nest-envy is  exactly what I felt when I checked into my one-bedroom city view suite on the 30th floor of the slick Grand Hyatt Seattle. True, the lobby, elevators and hallways are all business with dramatic lighting, sedate colors, rich materials and lofty spaces. Six different exotic woods (including Wenge and Bubina) were used throughout the hotel from the elevators to the boardrooms and huge slabs of backlit onyx are mounted on hallway walls.

I admit it. I'm a sucker for trendy boutique hotels. The best of these smaller, stylish hotels are design-forward hipster havens, with modern art, post-modern furnishings, and futuristic toys that control music and lighting.  Flat-screen TVs are often installed in gigantic bathrooms, and the mini-bars are stocked with tasty stuff you'd never find in a vending machine.